Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Chen Hao kills the remaining Overlords, then unleashes “Purify,” a wave of white light that annihilates every Soul-Devouring Abyss Demon in the underground cavern and removes most of its Yin Energy.
• The purge shakes the ground and sends a pillar of light from the pit, alarming the group waiting above. Once the cavern is exposed, Chen Hao uproots and collects the entire Flame Spirit Stone vein, depriving the demons of a catalyst that helped them multiply.
• Because Yin Energy still seeps from a deep underground source, Chen Hao places his Ancient Sword above the pit. Its golden halo suppresses the icy wind and helps seal the danger.
• Chen Hao declares the trial complete, retrieves the Ancient Attic, and has Xiao Qing carry the group back to Huaxia. After about an hour, they arrive at Treasure Sky City, ending their half-month expedition.

Character developments

• Chen Hao demonstrates overwhelming power and calm decisiveness, but also recognizes that destroying the demons is not enough while their source remains. He takes practical steps to contain the threat and leaves no resources behind.
• Yang Wanqing worries that Chen Hao may be in danger, then chooses not to question his dramatic feat, reflecting her familiarity with his habit of offering little explanation.
• The group reacts with awe and anxiety to Chen Hao’s power, but their exhaustion gives way to relief and anticipation as they return home.

Significant themes

• Containment versus eradication: Chen Hao destroys the demons present but understands that their source could produce more, so he seals the area rather than assuming the threat is gone forever.
• Power and responsibility: His strength is used both to eliminate immediate danger and to prevent future outbreaks.
• Return to ordinary life: The shift from a desolate, demon-filled wasteland to bustling Treasure Sky City highlights the contrast between the group’s ordeal and the human world they have returned to.

Character interactions

• Yang Wanqing voices concern about Chen Hao’s safety; Chen Siyao replies dismissively, and Ying Wenjie catches Yang Wanqing when the earthquake nearly sends her into the pit.
• The group silently recognizes that Chen Hao caused the pillar of light, despite not understanding what happened below.
• Chen Hao gives the party brief instructions—telling them to head back and calling Xiao Qing—then leads them home without explaining the details of his actions.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Hao passes on Primordial Era knowledge of formations, pills, talismans, and artifact refinement to his students. He tells them to choose one specialty and says he may take them to Penglai after the New Year, motivating them to study and practice.
• Chen Hao and his sister, Chen Siyao, leave their friends behind and travel to their hometown of Liyang for the New Year.
• They return without warning to their long-abandoned childhood home. Chen Hao uses a cultivation technique to clean the house, and the siblings revisit rooms and possessions from their past.
• Looking at the family photograph, Chen Hao reflects that despite his immense power, he cannot bring his deceased parents back.
• The siblings buy groceries and spend New Year’s Eve making dumplings together, sharing a modest, warm celebration.

Character developments

• Chen Hao shows a quieter, vulnerable side as memories of his difficult childhood and lost parents resurface. His power cannot overcome the grief and limits of mortality.
• Chen Siyao is visibly moved by returning home and seeing the family photograph, but finds comfort in reconnecting with her brother and rebuilding a holiday tradition.
• Chen Hao’s students are eager to learn and excited by the prospect of visiting Penglai, especially Yang Wanqing, whose enthusiasm contrasts with the seriousness of their new studies.

Significant themes

• Family, home, and memory: The neglected house and old belongings reconnect the siblings with their shared past.
• The limits of power: Chen Hao’s extraordinary cultivation cannot undo death.
• Perseverance and choice: The students are encouraged to develop their own expertise through practice.
• Finding warmth after hardship: The siblings’ dumpling-making and New Year celebration restore a sense of family closeness.

Character interactions

• Chen Hao gives his students knowledge and a future goal; they respond with curiosity, playful questions, and excitement.
• Yang Wanqing reluctantly bids farewell to Chen Siyao and Chen Hao, asking them to return early and stay in touch.
• Chen Siyao shares the emotional weight of their return home with Chen Hao. He comforts her with a reassuring gesture, and they decide together to prepare dumplings and buy fireworks.
• Their joking over Chen Siyao’s oddly shaped dumplings brings lightness to an otherwise nostalgic, bittersweet reunion with home.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Hao and his sister, Chen Siyao, celebrate New Year’s Eve together with dumplings, fruit wine, and fireworks. For Hao, it is his first New Year with family in ten thousand years.
• On New Year’s morning, Han Songyue, director of the Special Affairs Bureau, visits with Qin Zheng. He asks Chen Hao to take charge of the crisis surrounding the Thirty-Six Penglai Islands: their ancient formation has resisted the country’s experts, while foreign forces, monsters, and public pressure make the situation increasingly dangerous.
• Chen Hao agrees to go to the East Sea after the New Year and “take a look,” relieving some of the pressure Han has been carrying.
• The heads and members of several major families then arrive to pay their respects and bring gifts: the Qin family, followed by the Ying, Ye, Wu, and Yang families. Yang Weiguo brings younger relatives, including Yang Zhengde, who wants to thank Chen Hao for curing his brain cancer.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao remains calm and understated despite the national significance of Penglai. His willingness to help contrasts with the crisis’s scale and shows the trust others place in his abilities.
• Chen Siyao enjoys the holiday with her brother and warmly welcomes the visitors. She understands that Chen Hao is uniquely capable of handling Penglai.
• Han Songyue appears exhausted by the mounting crisis but approaches Chen Hao respectfully and earnestly, making a direct appeal for help.
• Qin Wanshan is startled to find the Special Affairs Bureau’s director visiting Chen Hao, recognizing how influential Chen Hao has become. Qin Xiaoyu greets Siyao affectionately and brings gifts.
• The other family leaders arrive one after another, showing their respect for Chen Hao and the growing convergence of political and martial-world power around him.

Significant themes

• Family and renewal: The intimate New Year celebration is especially meaningful to Chen Hao after his extraordinarily long separation from family.
• Respect and influence: The powerful Han Songyue and leaders of the great families all defer to Chen Hao, highlighting his exceptional status.
• National responsibility: Penglai’s treasures and the threat of foreign interference frame Chen Hao’s agreement to help as a matter of protecting the country.
• A gathering of forces: The succession of visitors suggests that Chen Hao’s home is becoming a center of influence as the Penglai crisis intensifies.

Key plot points and events

• On New Year’s Day, the Yang family visits Chen Hao to offer greetings and thank him for saving Yang Weiguo. Yang Hanwen arrives dismissive of Chen Hao, but is startled by the powerful guests already gathered: Qin Wanshan, leaders of major families, and a representative of the Special Affairs Bureau. He quickly becomes respectful and nervous.
• A steady stream of prominent visitors brings valuable gifts, all focused on Chen Hao. Qin Wanshan asks Han Songyue about progress concerning Penglai; Han implies they will discuss it after the holiday, and Qin understands that Chen Hao may be involved. Han leaves last, awaiting Chen Hao’s decision.
• After the guests depart, Chen Siyao jokes about the exhausting reception. Chen Hao reflects that their attention comes from his strength, not personal affection. The siblings plan to visit their parents’ graves the next day.
• On the second day of the New Year, they pay respects at their parents’ graves. Siyao tells them that Chen Hao has become extraordinary and that they need not worry about the siblings.
• They then visit their second uncle, Chen Jianguo. The visit is civil but uncomfortable for Siyao, who remembers feeling neglected while living in his household. To deflect questions about Chen Hao’s work, she says he runs a cosmetics business. The siblings leave after lunch and prepare for a trip to Dinghai Island.
• On the fifth day of the New Year, they wait at the airport for their flight. Siyao shows Chen Hao a video of an actor performing an apparently impossible stunt, ending the chapter on a new point of interest.

Character developments

• Chen Hao remains composed amid the attention of influential families. He recognizes that their deference is tied to his power and quietly prioritizes family obligations over social prestige.
• Chen Siyao is openly proud of her brother and protective of him, while also showing lingering discomfort about her childhood with their uncle’s family. Her excitement about the island trip contrasts with the strain of the family visit.
• Yang Hanwen learns to curb his arrogance when he sees the status of Chen Hao’s guests.
• Qin Wanshan appears reassured by the possibility that Chen Hao will be involved in the Penglai matter.

Significant themes

• Power and status: Chen Hao’s influence attracts powerful visitors, but the chapter suggests their respect is transactional.
• Family and remembrance: The siblings honor their parents and reaffirm their bond.
• Belonging and neglect: Siyao’s uneasy visit recalls the emotional cost of growing up under relatives’ roof.
• Modesty and concealment: Siyao downplays Chen Hao’s success to avoid scrutiny, while he accepts the social performance without complaint.

Character interactions

• The Yang family’s formal deference to Chen Hao contrasts with Yang Hanwen’s earlier mockery.
• Qin Wanshan uses Han Songyue’s restrained answer to infer Chen Hao’s likely role in the Penglai issue.
• At the cemetery, Siyao speaks to their parents while Chen Hao supports her quietly.
• With their uncle and aunt, the siblings maintain politeness despite emotional distance; Siyao answers for Chen Hao and helps steer the conversation.

Key events

• Chen Siyao watches viral videos of people displaying apparent superhuman strength. She recognizes that Gong Chao and Li Dali are still below the body-tempering realm, while Dragon Girl and Xiao Yuanfeng have reached it; she and her companions suspect Xu Yunda has as well.
• The siblings arrive on Dinghai Island, where they reunite with Chen Hao’s disciples and companions, including Qin Xiaoyu, Yang Wanqing, Ying Wenjie, Ye Chendong, and Wu Tian. Public discussion of the supernatural is spreading too widely for authorities to contain.
• At breakfast, the group discusses the new public martial artists and shows off their improved ability to assess cultivation. Chen Hao decides to review their progress.
• Each person reports a chosen discipline: Chen Siyao and Qin Xiaoyu chose formations; Ying Wenjie chose talismans; Ye Chendong and Wu Tian chose alchemy; Yang Wanqing chose artifact refining.
• Yang Wanqing jokes that artifact refining is ideal because it involves little thinking and lots of hammering and burning. Chen Hao examines everyone’s understanding and discovers that, unexpectedly, she has mastered the most. He attributes her progress to her untroubled, focused mindset. The group then heads toward the command center.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Siyao and the others have grown from ordinary newcomers into cultivators capable of judging other people’s levels and evaluating their strengths.
• Chen Hao observes that their growth includes improved perspective and discernment, not just cultivation.
• Yang Wanqing’s carefree attitude, initially treated as unserious, proves to be an advantage in artifact refining. Her unexpected talent surprises the group and overturns their assumptions.
• The group’s warm reunion and teasing show their closeness, while their shared discussion reflects growing confidence and expertise.

Significant themes

• The supernatural becoming public: Viral footage and sightings are making suppression increasingly futile.
• Growth through aptitude and practice: Each disciple selects a specialized path suited to their interests or existing strengths.
• Unexpected strengths: Yang Wanqing’s success suggests that an unconventional, distraction-free approach can be more effective than earnest overthinking.
• Changing perspective: The disciples’ ability to evaluate cultivation shows how far they have advanced.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Hao arrives at the Special Affairs Bureau’s command center, where the leaders of China’s major martial arts sects have gathered to study the formations protecting Penglai’s thirty-six islands.
• Han Songyue introduces Chen to the sect leaders, including representatives of Shaolin, Wudang, Emei, Mount Qingcheng, Maoshan, and others. They all treat Chen with marked respect because of his formidable, difficult-to-gauge presence.
• Qin Zheng reports that the team has deciphered most of the first island’s outer formations but has been stuck on its core formation for a month.
• Chen identifies the formation’s unknown rune immediately: it belongs to a primordial-era variant of the Heavenly Origin Formation, combined with the Three Talents and Nine Palaces systems. He explains that the team’s mistaken identification had led them down the wrong path.
• Chen offers to mark all the formation’s nodes. The chapter ends with him examining the island’s full formation and considering its intricate design.

Character developments

• Chen Hao demonstrates exceptional knowledge and authority, solving in moments a problem that has stumped the gathered experts for weeks.
• Jiang Lü, initially anxious about the unexplained rune, is astonished by Chen’s insight and recognizes that his own team’s assumptions were flawed.
• Yang Wanqing is impressed by the scale of the gathering and the deference shown to her master. Her previous victory over Xu Yunda is also affirmed: he bears no resentment and sincerely credits her guidance.
• Qin Xiaoyu feels renewed awe and admiration for Chen, particularly because she is studying formations herself.
• Han Songyue is reassured that inviting Chen was the right decision.

Significant themes

• Mastery and humility: Even the most respected sect leaders defer to Chen, while he approaches their problem calmly and without boasting.
• Knowledge overcoming collective effort: Chen’s expertise quickly resolves a challenge that defeated a large group of skilled practitioners.
• The value of correct assumptions: The team’s progress stalled because they misidentified the formation’s underlying system.
• Cooperation across factions: Military officials, researchers, and sect representatives work together toward the shared goal of accessing Penglai.

Character interactions

• Han Songyue guides Chen through security and introduces him to the assembled sect leaders, who greet him respectfully.
• Xu Yunda warmly thanks Chen for Yang Wanqing’s instruction, showing that their earlier rivalry has given way to respect.
• Jiang Lü presents the formation problem to Chen; Chen explains the rune and corrects the group’s interpretation, easing Jiang’s anxiety.
• Chen’s confident offer to map every node shifts the room from uncertainty toward hope.

Plot points and events

• At a gathering of sect leaders, Chen Hao assigns his disciples to break the Penglai formation while he supervises from behind. The group is surprised: the leaders have studied the formation for two weeks without solving it, yet Chen Hao trusts his disciples to try.
• Han Songyue authorizes Chen Siyao to livestream the operation, with Huaxing’s official channels rebroadcasting it. The goal is to counter online rumors and public panic about Penglai—and to show overseas observers that the authorities are acting.
• Xiao Yuanfeng asks to join the formation-breaking team. Xu Yunda, Zhang Jingzhou, and Ding Shaokang volunteer as well, hoping to test their abilities and learn from Chen Hao’s disciples. Chen Hao accepts.
• The next morning, the team travels by military speedboat to Penglai’s first island. Chen Hao remains in reserve, while his disciples and the four sect representatives form the frontline teams.
• After landing, Qin Xiaoyu examines the formation and identifies its outer layer as the first defense of a Nine Palaces Formation, with spiritual energy flowing from the Kun position according to the Luo Shu sequence. She judges it manageable.
• Chen Siyao identifies the Tianxuan hub as the formation’s core and says she and Qin Xiaoyu will lead the effort to break it.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Hao shows confidence in his disciples and agrees to let the sect experts participate, maintaining authority without needing to dominate the operation himself.
• Chen Siyao is nervous about broadcasting a major official event to a potentially enormous audience. Qin Xiaoyu and Yang Wanqing tease and reassure her; despite her limited practical experience, she demonstrates strong theoretical insight.
• Qin Xiaoyu takes charge of examining the formation, applying what Chen Hao taught her. She is calm and supportive toward Siyao, whom she naturally addresses as her martial aunt.
• The four sect disciples approach the task with curiosity and competitive spirit rather than hostility, hoping to measure themselves against Chen Hao’s students.
• The group’s interactions blend professional cooperation with friendly teasing, especially among the younger cultivators.

Significant themes

• Public truth versus rumor: The livestream is intended to address speculation openly rather than let misinformation spread.
• Mentorship and demonstrated trust: Chen Hao’s decision to let his students lead reflects their growth and his confidence in their training.
• Cooperation across traditions: Sect representatives join the operation to learn and contribute, turning potential rivalry into collaboration.
• Knowledge versus experience: Chen Siyao’s grasp of formation principles is advanced, though she lacks the practical experience Qin Xiaoyu has developed.

Key plot points and events

• Qin Xiaoyu and Chen Siyao analyze Penglai’s layered formation: Three Talents camouflage on the outside, Nine Palaces transformations within, and a Heavenly Origin hub at the core. They identify a decoy pathway and divide the work of mapping the real routes.
• Yang Wanqing, Wu Tian, Ying Wenjie, and Ye Chendong take positions at the identified nodes, acting as anchors. Their coordination reflects the training they received from Chen Hao.
• Xiao Yuanfeng’s group—Xu Yunda, Zhang Jingzhou, and Ding Shaokang—also investigates the formation but struggles to read its deeper layers. Zhang discovers that an old tree is a focal point connected to the formation underground. Impressed by Qin Xiaoyu and Chen Siyao’s progress, Ding suggests they follow their lead.
• Chen Siyao unexpectedly starts a livestream from the island. Viewers quickly recognize Penglai, and the audience surges into the tens of millions.
• Huaxing’s official news channel rebroadcasts her stream as “Penglai incident: live on the scene,” drawing a nationwide audience. Viewers explain that Siyao is Chen Hao’s sister and that he is leading the effort to break the formation.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Xiaoyu and Chen Siyao demonstrate complementary expertise, confidence, and close teamwork as they interpret the formation.
• Chen Siyao balances her cheerful streamer persona with visible nervousness at the enormous audience and the significance of her location.
• Xiao Yuanfeng and his companions acknowledge the limits of their own knowledge and show respect for the women’s skill.
• The trained group members work smoothly together, requiring little verbal coordination.

Significant themes

• Cooperation and trust: Different members contribute specialized skills to a shared challenge.
• Knowledge and humility: Even skilled formation experts encounter limits when faced with Penglai’s complexity.
• Public spectacle and authority: A private expedition becomes a national event through social media and official rebroadcasting.
• Chen Hao’s growing reputation: Viewers’ references to his past feats shape public expectations for the Penglai expedition.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Siyao’s livestream surges past hundreds of millions of viewers, including foreign research organizations. She realizes the broadcast is a deliberate public show of Huaxing’s strength and of Chen Hao’s ability to handle supernatural threats.
• Rather than simply narrating, Siyao joins the formation-breaking team and streams from her own perspective.
• Qin Xiaoyu finds the first gate of the Primordial Immortal Formation: an ancient stone tablet whose runes resemble primordial seal script and encode the Heavenly Origin Formation.
• Qin Xiaoyu explains the unusual rune flows to the assembled cultivators, then warns Zhang Jingzhou away from touching the tablet because it would trigger another defensive layer.
• Following Xiaoyu’s directions, five cultivators—including Siyao—channel spiritual power into separate formation nexuses. The tablet and the surrounding ground light up, beginning to activate a twenty-meter formation.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Siyao recognizes the political purpose behind her livestream and feels the pressure of representing Huaxing. She resolves to do well, moving from streamer and observer to an active member of the formation team.
• Qin Xiaoyu demonstrates exceptional expertise and composure, identifying hidden interference patterns, interpreting ancient runes, and directing the others. Her focus is so complete that the livestream does not distract her.
• Zhang Jingzhou accepts Xiaoyu’s warning and withdraws his hand, while Ding Shaokang and Xiao Yuanfeng study the unfamiliar script and learn from her explanation.
• The livestream audience reacts with awe as Xiaoyu effectively teaches prominent sect figures, highlighting the difference between her knowledge and theirs.

Significant themes

• Power as public display: The livestream is a calculated demonstration to domestic and international audiences that Huaxing can manage supernatural dangers.
• Expertise and hierarchy: Xiaoyu’s command of the formation earns respect even from senior sect representatives.
• Performance under pressure: Siyao turns the burden of representing her brother and country into motivation.
• Cooperation and precision: Opening the gate requires coordinated action at five points, guided by careful interpretation rather than brute force.

Key plot points and events

• Qin Xiaoyu opens the first gate of the Heavenly Origin Formation by tracing the runes’ natural flow rather than forcing spiritual power through them. A hidden stairway leads the group underground.
• In a vast hall, they discover a jade plaque bearing the name Ji Li. Qin identifies the ancient script, and the livestream audience and representatives from the four schools react with astonishment: Ji Li is a major figure from the Primordial Era, tied to several of their lineages.
• The plaque’s inscription reveals that Ji Li left three parts of his legacy: a volume on the Heavenly Origin Formation, an enlightenment Heart Sutra, and the Capital Heavenly Thunder Halberd. His three formation trials grant one legacy item per trial.
• Since they have cleared the entry formation, a compartment opens beneath the dais, revealing Volume One of the Heavenly Origin Formation.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Xiaoyu demonstrates exceptional knowledge and composure, guiding the group through the formation and translating the plaque. The spiritual power in the plaque briefly examines her, then withdraws.
• Xiao Yuanfeng watches Qin closely and recognizes that his disadvantage is not simply a lack of skill, but a profound gap in understanding. He attributes her knowledge to her master, Chen Hao, and is privately shaken by what she can do.
• Representatives Xu Yunda, Zhang Jingzhou, and Ding Shaokang react strongly to Ji Li’s name because of its importance to their traditions. Wu Tian is especially startled by the mention of the thunder halberd and urges Qin to repeat it.
• Yang Wanqing jokes that the trials sound like an exam; Ying Wenjie asks where the first reward is, prompting the group to discover the manuscript.

Significant themes

• Knowledge versus raw ability: Qin succeeds by understanding the formation’s principles, while Xiao realizes that force or talent alone cannot bridge his knowledge gap.
• Legacy and lineage: Ji Li’s inheritance connects the ancient past to present-day schools and practitioners.
• Discovery and mounting stakes: The first reward confirms that the group has only begun a larger challenge, with two trials and powerful treasures still ahead.

Plot points and events

• The second formation trial begins as the livestream draws 350 million viewers. Huaxing’s official account reassures the public, and viewers respond with pride in Chen Hao’s team.
• Qin Xiaoyu finds the second trial far more difficult than the first. She and Chen Siyao descend into a vast chamber and examine a rune-covered stele.
• They identify the formation as a suppression formation whose key is “breaking.” Chen Siyao activates the stele, triggering a quake.
• Twelve ten-meter-tall wooden mechanical constructs rise from the floor. Chen Siyao spots rune-linked cores embedded in their chests, and she and Qin Xiaoyu conclude that the constructs must be defeated to unravel the formation.

Character development

• Qin Xiaoyu remains confident but shows the strain of the harder trial; she relies on close analysis with Chen Siyao.
• Chen Siyao demonstrates sharp technical insight, identifying how the constructs are powered.
• Xiao Yuanfeng struggles with wounded pride. Though he once believed himself an exceptional chosen one, he now feels unable even to assist Chen Hao’s disciples. The constructs’ appearance gives him a possible chance to prove himself.
• Xu Yunda tries to encourage Xiao Yuanfeng to accept the gap and wait until they return to compete.

Character interactions

• Qin Xiaoyu and Chen Siyao work together efficiently, rapidly interpreting the runes while others cannot understand them.
• Yang Wanqing checks on Qin Xiaoyu after the stele’s force repels her.
• Ye Chendong prepares to fight, but Qin Xiaoyu tells him to wait while Chen Siyao investigates the constructs.
• Xiao Yuanfeng and Xu Yunda discuss Xiao’s frustration and sense of inferiority.

Significant themes

• Unequal talent and wounded pride: Xiao Yuanfeng confronts the gulf between his self-image and the abilities of Chen Hao’s disciples.
• Cooperation and expertise: Qin Xiaoyu and Chen Siyao’s complementary knowledge is essential to solving the trial.
• Public confidence and national pride: The livestream and Huaxing’s statement turn a potentially alarming event into a source of reassurance and pride.

Key plot points and events

• Twelve ten-meter-tall Wooden Puppets suddenly attack when Qin Xiaoyu calls for battle.
• Xiao Yuanfeng and Xu Yunda team up, but their attacks barely suppress one puppet. Zhang Jingzhou and Ding Shaokang likewise struggle against another.
• Chen Hao’s disciples each show a different effective approach: Ying Wenjie targets joints, Ye Chendong repeatedly strikes a chest crystal, Wu Tian clings to a puppet and overwhelms it with spiritual energy, and Qin Xiaoyu uses a formation to restrict movement.
• Chen Siyao fights two puppets at once, striking their weak points with calm precision.
• Distracted by the difference in ability, Xiao Yuanfeng nearly gets hit by a puppet. Zhang Jingzhou saves him, and Xiao returns to the fight.
• Chen Hao’s group defeats their opponents first. Xie Jie helps Xiao Yuanfeng and Xu Yunda finish theirs; Wu Tian assists Zhang Jingzhou and Ding Shaokang. Ying Wenjie then destroys a puppet’s knee, chest protection, and crystal in three punches.
• With all twelve puppets down, the second formation fades and a passage opens.

Character developments

• Xiao Yuanfeng is forced to confront that Chen Hao’s disciples are not merely ahead because of better opportunities: they are far more skilled and capable. His pride gives way to shock and self-doubt, but he regains focus after nearly being struck.
• Xu Yunda, Zhang Jingzhou, and Ding Shaokang prove that cooperation helps them survive, though they still need outside assistance to finish.
• Chen Hao’s disciples demonstrate confident, specialized combat skills, while Chen Siyao stands out for calmly taking on two enemies alone.

Significant themes

• Skill versus raw strength: Xiao’s powerful slash barely marks a puppet, while precision and knowledge of weak points prove far more effective.
• Teamwork and mutual support: Xiao and Xu coordinate, and Zhang saves Xiao; later, the less successful fighters rely on help from others.
• Humility and confronting reality: Xiao’s belief that he could match Chen Hao’s group is shattered by witnessing their abilities firsthand.

Character interactions

• Xu Yunda redirects a puppet’s attack and urges Xiao to work with him.
• Zhang Jingzhou saves Xiao from a potentially fatal blow, then reprimands him for losing focus.
• Ying Wenjie checks on Xiao after helping finish his puppet, prompting Xiao to answer stiffly that he is fine.
• Xie Jie and Wu Tian assist the struggling fighters, helping bring the battle to a close.

Key plot points and events

• The group reaches the final chamber, where a stone stele explains that the formation has three trials: formations, combat, and artifact refining. Passing all three will dissolve the formation.
• The third trial is a crafting contest: each entrant is sent to a separate room stocked with materials and tools. The first to finish passes and wins Ji Li’s Primordial-era magical treasure, the Capital Heavenly Thunder Halberd.
• Excited by the prize—and hopeful that artifact refining gives them a better chance than the earlier trials—Xiao Yuanfeng and his companions agree to compete.
• Chen Siyao activates the formation, teleporting everyone into individual rooms. The task is to refine an implement that can hold spiritual power, judged on capacity, stability, and completeness.
• Xiao Yuanfeng studies the instructions and materials, relying on the theoretical knowledge in his inheritance. Chen Siyao begins work using the artifact-refining fundamentals her brother taught her.
• Yang Wanqing quickly lights her furnace and carefully selects materials, assessing their quality and structure. She is already well ahead while the others are still preparing.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Siyao understands that Yang Wanqing is the group’s strongest artifact refiner, based on Chen Hao’s rare praise of her talent. She keeps this from the competitors, allowing them to discover the gap themselves.
• Yang Wanqing reveals her confidence and expertise through quick, precise material selection and close attention to quality.
• Xiao Yuanfeng and his companions are motivated by the chance to win the halberd. They recognize artifact refining as their best opportunity, though Xiao Yuanfeng has only studied it in theory.
• Chen Siyao approaches the task cautiously, aiming for a workable result rather than a masterpiece.

Significant themes

• Hidden differences in talent and preparation: A shared trial does not put contestants on equal footing; Yang Wanqing’s practical skill quickly distinguishes her.
• Knowledge versus experience: Xiao Yuanfeng has theoretical knowledge, while Yang Wanqing demonstrates hands-on judgment and speed.
• Competition and ambition: The powerful prize raises the stakes and intensifies the group’s determination.

Key events

• Yang Wanqing displays remarkable forging talent, melting and engraving the materials with effortless precision.
• As she begins her artifact, Xiao Yuanfeng is still struggling to regulate his furnace. The test abruptly ends, teleporting everyone back to the starting area.
• Yang Wanqing has completed the challenge in roughly fifteen minutes. The stele splits open and releases the Capital Heavenly Thunder Halberd, a lightning-powered Magical Treasure forged by Ji Li. It accepts Yang Wanqing as its master.
• The group enters the Main Hall, where they find a stone platform holding a Bamboo Slip, three Jade Talismans, and a Wooden Box. Chen Siyao reads an inscription identifying its author as Ji Li, a former inner disciple of Heavenly Lord Tongtian who considered himself unremarkable.

Character developments and interactions

• Yang Wanqing proves that forging is a genuine strength, not a distraction from the group’s other accomplishments. Delighted by the treasure and relieved to have contributed, she boasts playfully and hugs Qin Xiaoyu.
• Qin Xiaoyu tolerates Yang Wanqing’s exuberance with dry humor, while the others laugh along.
• Xiao Yuanfeng is stunned by how thoroughly Yang Wanqing outperformed him. Xu Yunda offers a quiet, sympathetic pat, implicitly urging him to accept the result.
• Chen Siyao admires Yang Wanqing’s achievement, even as she notes that excitement makes her forgetful of dignity. She then takes the lead in examining and interpreting Ji Li’s inscription.

Significant themes

• Talent and perseverance: Yang Wanqing’s rapid success shows the power of natural aptitude developed through practice.
• Recognition and belonging: Her victory reassures her that she has a valuable role in the group.
• Humility and perspective: Xiao Yuanfeng confronts the gap between his abilities and those of his companions, while Ji Li’s own account begins with a modest assessment of his status.
• Discovery: The opened stele leads the group from a personal trial into a larger mystery about Ji Li and the objects preserved in the hall.

Key events

• Chen Siyao translates the final inscription: Ji Li was an inner disciple of the Heavenly Reach Sect, ranked 1,723 among 3,600. By Heavenly Lord Tongtian’s command, he guarded the third Penglai island and set up trials to pass on an inheritance.
• Siyao retrieves the rewards from the first two trials: a spiritual-power circulation method and three jade talismans containing offensive spells.
• Yang Wanqing reluctantly leaves the underground hall with the Capital Heavenly Thunder Halberd, which grows more visibly charged as she feeds it spiritual power. The group returns to the surface after a total of two and a half hours.
• The discovery sets off intense online speculation about the Heavenly Reach Sect, the thirty-six islands, and the possible existence of Heavenly Lord Tongtian and other mythological figures. The livestream’s audience nearly triples before Siyao ends the broadcast.
• Back at the command center, Chen Hao examines the recovered items. Since they do not fit the group’s cultivation system, he directs Siyao to hand them to the Special Affairs Bureau. Wanqing’s halberd, however, is hers to keep because she earned it by clearing the trial.

Character developments and interactions

• Yang Wanqing is delighted by her prize and proud that she won it herself. She seeks Chen Hao’s approval, but his understated response briefly disappoints her; his permission to keep the weapon quickly restores her enthusiasm.
• Chen Siyao handles the discoveries and rewards responsibly, leaving their distribution to her brother.
• Chen Hao remains calm and practical, distinguishing between incompatible relics that should go to the authorities and Wanqing’s personally earned treasure.
• Qin Xiaoyu keeps the group moving when Wanqing gets absorbed in admiring the halberd.
• Ying Wenjie and Wu Tian tease each other over Wenjie’s envy of Wanqing’s weapon.

Significant themes

• The scale of the ancient cultivation world becomes clearer: even a relatively low-ranked inner disciple possessed formidable trials and treasures, prompting awe and speculation about higher-ranking disciples and their master.
• The chapter contrasts public fascination with practical responsibility: the discovery fuels worldwide debate, while Chen Hao focuses on how the relics can—or cannot—be used.
• Personal achievement gives an object meaning beyond its power: Wanqing values the halberd because she won it herself, not merely because it is a rare magical treasure.

Key plot points and events

• After suffering three decisive defeats—in formations, combat, and artifact refining—the visitors from the Special Affairs Bureau finish dinner in silence, with Xiao Yuanfeng especially subdued.
• Chen Hao studies the map of Penglai’s Thirty-Six Islands. The newly cleared Thirty-Sixth Island is marked green; the larger Thirty-Fifth Island shows a mountain-top complex and far stronger energy readings.
• Yang Wanqing continues learning to handle the Capital Heavenly Thunder Halberd, whose electrical shocks make her practice uncomfortable.
• At dawn, Chen Hao refuses to tell his disciples what formation awaits on the next island. He wants them to investigate and solve it themselves.
• Chen Siyao and the others bring the Thirty-Sixth Island’s cultivation records and spell materials to the Special Affairs Bureau for Huaxia to study, while keeping the magical treasures for themselves.
• Director Han Songyue reports that the previous day’s livestream drew more than 300 million viewers, including extensive overseas attention. Several foreign governments have requested a “joint expedition,” which Ying Wenjie suspects is an attempt to claim part of the discoveries.

Character developments

• Chen Hao remains calm and detached, but deliberately pushes his disciples to become more independent rather than relying on his guidance.
• Chen Siyao and Qin Xiaoyu are growing more capable at formation work and are ready to tackle the next island without a preview.
• Yang Wanqing is steadily adapting to the thunder halberd, despite being shocked during practice.
• Xiao Yuanfeng is left visibly shaken by the group’s repeated failures.
• Han Songyue balances gratitude for Chen Hao’s contribution with concern over the growing international scrutiny.

Character interactions

• Xu Yunda notices Xiao Yuanfeng’s distress but lets him eat in silence.
• Chen Hao sends the eager disciples off to explore the next island on their own; Wu Tian encourages Ying Wenjie not to worry about the challenge.
• Chen Siyao hands over the records on Chen Hao’s behalf, and Han Songyue formally thanks him for sharing them with Huaxia.
• Han warns Chen Siyao and her companions to avoid revealing sensitive information during future livestreams. Ying Wenjie openly mocks the foreign countries’ request for a joint expedition.

Significant themes

• Learning through independence: Chen Hao withholds guidance so his disciples can develop their own judgment.
• Knowledge and public benefit: Chen Hao gives Huaxia access to ancient cultivation records, distinguishing shared knowledge from privately retained treasures.
• International competition and secrecy: The livestream turns Penglai’s discoveries into a matter of global interest, raising tensions over information and access.
• Contrasting attitudes toward danger: While the disciples and officials treat the islands as momentous, Chen Hao remains composed and almost casual.

Plot and events

• Han Songyue explains that the decision to livestream the island explorations is part of a larger contest for international influence: whoever takes the lead in the coming upheaval may shape the new era.
• Chen Siyao’s team sets out for Penglai’s thirty-fifth island. Xiao Yuanfeng and three Special Affairs Bureau cultivators accompany them, while a group of professors heads to the already-cleared thirty-sixth island to conduct research.
• The thirty-fifth island appears lush and ordinary, with no formations detected around its perimeter. Chen Siyao starts a livestream before the group enters.
• Inside, the forest is unnaturally silent and devoid of visible life. Beyond it, the team finds a vast stone-paved area. The stones carry faint electrical currents, which Yang Wanqing detects and Ying Wenjie confirms by touching one.
• As the group advances toward a distant building, the sky turns an eerie gray-white, and the forest behind them grows blurry, suggesting that the island’s environment—or their perception of it—is changing.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Siyao remains focused on securing the islands, takes charge of the expedition, and keeps viewers informed through the livestream.
• Yang Wanqing demonstrates her sensitivity to the electrical force in the stones; her ancient halberd seems to respond to it.
• Qin Xiaoyu urges caution despite the island’s normal appearance and recognizes that the changing sky signals danger.
• Xiao Yuanfeng cooperates with Chen Siyao’s group, though seeing Yang Wanqing wield an ancient magical treasure leaves him with mixed feelings.
• Ying Wenjie tests the stone’s electricity firsthand and gets a painful shock, prompting light teasing from Wu Tian.
• Han Songyue’s explanation gives the expedition a broader political significance: its discoveries are tied to a struggle for influence among great powers.

Significant themes

• Influence as power: The livestream turns exploration into a public contest for prestige and leadership.
• Appearance versus reality: The island looks ordinary, yet its silence, charged stones, and distorted sky reveal hidden danger.
• Discovery and uncertainty: The team encounters phenomena they cannot explain, foreshadowing a more serious threat ahead.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• As Chen Siyao’s group approaches a distant hall on the island, the surroundings grow steadily darker. Several members begin to feel tingling and numbness in their bodies.
• Yang Wanqing recognizes the sensation as electricity. Chen Siyao and Qin Xiaoyu find no formations or runes, leading Ying Wenjie to conclude that the island’s trial is the lightning itself: its power intensifies as they advance, testing their physical endurance.
• Xiao Yuanfeng and his three companions struggle badly. Zhang Jingzhou, Ding Shaokang, and Xu Yunda lose control of their muscles, while Xiao Yuanfeng stops after realizing further progress could endanger his heart. They retreat, leaving Chen Siyao’s group to continue.
• Chen Siyao and her five fellow disciples press on despite escalating pain and muscle spasms. After half an hour, they remain far from the hall, and Chen Siyao can manage only one step every thirty seconds.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Siyao takes the lead, showing determination and concern for Xiao Yuanfeng’s group while continuing to guide her own disciples.
• Yang Wanqing proves more physically resilient than expected. She credits her steadiness to having endured two hours of shocks while studying the Capital Heavenly Thunder Halberd the night before.
• Wu Tian relies on his powerful physique and keeps moving despite severe pain. Ying Wenjie identifies the nature of the trial; Qin Xiaoyu helps confirm there is no formation.
• Xiao Yuanfeng accepts his limits and withdraws with his companions rather than risk serious harm. His group’s retreat highlights the gap between their endurance and Chen Hao’s disciples’.
• The livestream audience shifts from curiosity and speculation to a unified chorus of encouragement.

Significant themes

• Physical endurance as a trial: The island tests the group through steadily intensifying lightning rather than puzzles or formations.
• Preparation and adaptation: Yang Wanqing’s earlier ordeal with the halberd unexpectedly prepares her for the island.
• Limits and perseverance: Xiao Yuanfeng recognizes when continuing would be dangerous, while Chen Siyao’s group chooses to push onward.
• Unequal strength and shared support: The contrast between the two groups is stark, but the viewers’ encouragement gives the advancing disciples a sense of collective backing.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Siyao and her five companions endure an intense electrical field for three hours as they struggle toward the Main Hall. Everyone is badly weakened, but they keep encouraging one another and finally reach the stairs, where the current abruptly stops.
• After resting and taking recovery pills supplied by Chen Siyao, the group discusses what happened. Yang Wanqing’s Capital Heavenly Thunder Halberd absorbed some of the lightning, growing stronger as it helped shield her.
• As the group prepares to enter the Main Hall, they discover a ten-meter-tall, fully armored mechanical Black Qilin standing in the doorway. Chen Siyao films it for her livestream, whose viewers react with astonishment and speculate that it may be capable of movement.
• Some viewers connect the lightning trial and Black Qilin to Grand Preceptor Wen Zhong’s legacy, noting that Wen Zhong rode a Black Qilin and wielded the Flood Dragon Twin Whips. Chen Siyao turns to share this discovery with her companions.

Character developments and interactions

• Chen Siyao remains focused and determined through the trial, urging the others onward and later distributing pills. She also documents the discovery for the livestream.
• The group show resilience and mutual support: Yang Wanqing helps Ying Wenjie when he falters, while the others encourage one another through exhaustion.
• Yang Wanqing learns that her halberd absorbed part of the lightning and became more powerful, though she stresses that she endured most of the trial herself.
• Wu Tian, Ying Wenjie, Qin Xiaoyu, and Ye Chendong each reveal their limits but persist, then recover and prepare to face what lies inside.
• The livestream audience acts as an outside chorus, celebrating the group’s survival and offering lore that may explain the trial and the Black Qilin.

Significant themes

• Endurance and solidarity: The group survives through persistence, encouragement, and practical help.
• Power gained through trials: Yang Wanqing’s magical weapon grows stronger by absorbing the lightning.
• Ancient technology and mystery: The mechanical beast challenges assumptions about the sophistication of primordial civilization.
• Public spectacle and shared discovery: The livestream turns the expedition into a worldwide event, with viewers reacting and contributing theories.

Plot points and events

• At the Main Hall entrance, the group recognizes the ten-meter black qilin as a possible legacy of Grand Preceptor Wen Zhong. Its eyes ignite, and the mechanical beast awakens.
• The six adventurers decide they must defeat it to reach the hall. Chen Siyao sets up her phone to record the fight, and the group spreads out.
• The qilin fires a powerful beam that gouges a trench through the ground. The group evades it, confirming that it has ranged attacks as well as overwhelming strength.
• Chen Siyao studies its construction while Wu Tian draws its attention. Yang Wanqing’s lightning briefly disrupts its movements, but its thick armor withstands their attacks. The qilin’s kick and tail sweep injure Wu Tian and Yang Wanqing.
• Chen Siyao spots a brief, narrow opening in the qilin’s belly armor when it raises a foreleg. She devises a coordinated plan: Wu Tian will bait it, Ying Wenjie and Ye Chendong will harry it from the sides, Qin Xiaoyu will slow it, and Chen Siyao and Yang Wanqing will strike through the gap.
• The chapter ends as the plan begins: Wu Tian draws the qilin’s attention, the others attack and restrain it, and the team prepares to exploit the opening.

Character developments

• Chen Siyao emerges as the tactician, carefully observing the qilin and turning a tiny flaw into a workable strategy.
• Wu Tian shows courage and toughness, volunteering to serve as bait despite being hurt.
• Yang Wanqing persists after being thrown into rocks and demonstrates that her lightning can disrupt the qilin, even if only briefly.
• The group remains determined and follows Chen Siyao’s coordinated plan despite the danger.

Significant themes

• Teamwork and coordination: The qilin is too powerful for individual attacks; success depends on each person filling a role.
• Observation and adaptability: Identifying the armor’s brief weakness matters more than brute force.
• Courage under pressure: The group continues fighting despite injuries and the creature’s overwhelming strength.
• Ancient power and technology: The legendary figure of Wen Zhong is linked to a formidable mechanical guardian.

Character interactions

• Ying Wenjie and Qin Xiaoyu explain the qilin’s possible connection to Wen Zhong, prompting the group’s alarm.
• Chen Siyao directs the team and calls out opportunities; the others respond by drawing, distracting, or restraining the beast.
• The group reacts with concern when Wu Tian and Yang Wanqing are struck, but both reassure them and continue fighting.